Catalans to vote independence

President Carles Puigdemont of Catalonia informed about the date of a referendum on independence, when people will decide whether they wish to become citizens of a new European state – 1st of October 2017. In case of simple majority Puigdemont has vowed to move forward to foundations of the Catalan statehood, including launching negotiations to redefine Catalonia’s relations with the European Union and the international community.

So far the Spanish authorities have prefered to ignore the issue, or to answer in a wooden burocratic language, protecting the status quo. However if the referendum is held, the government in Madrid has already indicated it would retaliate by suspending the autonomy that Catalonia. The fact the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Catalonia, as well as a majority of the members of the Catalan Parliament, have said their approval of the referendum apparently is ignored by the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Spanish political establishment, prefering to discard the Catalan claims through simple turning deaf ear to the issue.